The present invention relates to an internal combustion engine having an oil collector housing positioned beneath a crankcase housing, a lubricating oil pump positioned inside the oil collector housing, the oil collector housing containing at least one oil-collecting chamber, into which one oil suction line from the lubricating oil pump leads, forcing lubricating oil through a delivery side to consumers, and a system for supplying the lubricating oil to a drive shaft of at least one turbocharger mounted on the internal combustion engine. In such an engine, the lubricating oil that is fed to the turbocharger is returned via oil lines to the oil-collecting chamber of the internal combustion engine.
Internal combustion engines with turbo-charging require an adequate supply of lubricating oil for the drive shafts of the turbochargers. One lubricating oil supply system of this type, in which oil is fed to the drive shaft via a line leading to the turbocharger from the crankcase of the internal combustion engine, is known from European publication EP 0 662 581 A2. In most cases, the lubricating oil that is fed to the drive shaft of the turbocharger is then returned via corresponding return lines to the internal combustion engine's oil trap. To support the return of the oil, separate oil suction pumps are necessary in many cases.
One object of the invention is to provide a system for returning the lubricating oil from the turbocharger to the oil trap via an oil suction pump in such a way that will ensure that the oil will enter the oil trap above the oil level, even when a vehicle is traveling downhill.
This object is attained by having at least one ascending channel integrated into the oil collector housing, via which the lubricating oil that has been suctioned off from the at least one turbocharger is returned above an oil level in the oil-collecting chamber.
By integrating at least one ascending channel into the oil collector housing, it can be ensured that the lubricating oil that is suctioned off by the turbocharger-suction pump will be returned above the oil level in the oil trap, even when the vehicle is traveling downhill. The solution is simple and cost-effective, since no additional, external lines are required. The oil is delivered into the oil trap relatively far away from the point of suction by the main oil pump; this allows the returned lubricating oil sufficient time to defoam.
Further advantageous embodiments of and improvements on the internal combustion engine specified are reflected in dependent claims. In order to guarantee sufficient distance between the oil entry point and the oil level, the ascending channel leads up into a control valve assembly cover in the internal combustion engine.
One embodiment of the invention is specified in detail in the following description and is shown in the drawings.